The Beast of Bota Magna
by The Almighty Derp
Summary: After centuries of peace, Spherus Magna has fallen to invaders from beyond. A disgraced hero must rise against the threat, free his people, and make peace with his inner demons. But after years in the wild, is he still a hero, or a beast of the jungle?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Bionicle.

Nuhrii had dealt with his fair share of bad situations. From days where he wasted an entire shipment of disks with no mask to show for his labors, to almost being strangled by the Morbuzakh vines, the ta-matoran used to joke that he'd faced a Toa's share of perils. That being said, having an angry robot stalking you through a dense jungle was not his idea of a fun time. Then again, when did anyone have fun these days?

Nuhrii's thoughts were cut short by plasma-bolt. The matoran barely dodged the blast before bursting into a dense thicket. Panicking, he turned around to glimpse at his pursuer. To his dismay, and horror, the green robot was still gaining on him.

"You can't run from me forever," the robot (who sounded like a female) said, a sadistic note in her voice. "How about you just turn yourself in before I get angry?" Nuhrii began panicking, the sound of the robot's vine-slicing growing closer. Suddenly, the robot turned and looked straight at Nuhrii. "Got you," she snarled, before dashing forward towards her kill. Right before she reached the thicket Nuhrii was hiding in, a blade whizzed through the air, slamming into the robot's head. The blade whirled back towards its owner, a tall green robot adorned with animal fangs and a Kanohi Pakari. Mounted on his right forearm was some sort of blaster with a saw-blade launcher. In his left hand was a hunting spear. "Step away from the fire-spitter, Breez."

The aforementioned Breez looked shocked at first, before regaining her composure. "You should have remained dead." The mysterious new figure smirked. "Right. And I'm a rahi." Breez ran forward, smashing her barbed bow at her opponent. The other robot parried her attack with ease, before spinning and slashing at her with his staff. Breez blocked the strike with her shield, kicking the other figure backwards. The two clashed blades, locked into a fierce struggle. The robot feinted left, before delivering a downward slash to Breez's arm. She stumbled backwards, and the robot used the momentary distraction to launch a fully charged shot from his blaster directly into her chest. Breez fell down, deactivated.

Slowly, the victorious robot approached the thicket where Nuhrii had been watching the battle. "Come out, fire-spitter. I will not hurt you." Reluctantly, the Matoran obeyed his savior's command. The robot looked upon him with weary, yet kind eyes. "What is your name, little one?" he asked. Nuhrii replied slowly, "Nuhrii. Nuhrii the mask maker." The green robot smiled. "I see. Escaped from the incarceration camps, did you?" Nuhrii nodded, before asking, "Excuse me sir, but…who are you?" The robot paused for a moment before replying, "Lewa."


	2. Chapter 2

Nuhrii looked in awe upon his savior. "You mean you're Toa Lewa, Spirit of Air?" Lewa quickly frowned. "I am not a Toa; at least, not anymore. I lost the right to that title years ago." Nuhrii was puzzled by the warrior's odd behavior, but decided to not press the matter any further for now. Lewa then spoke, "Now I have a question for you, fire-spitter. Why were you being chased?" Nuhrii frowned, shivering with fear at the un-fond memories. "I had been ordered to deliver a shipment of new armor for the invaders last night. The only problem was that the work-load was so huge that I couldn't possibly get the shipment delivered without breaking the curfew. If I didn't deliver the shipment, all my workers and I would have been executed, or worse. If I broke the curfew, then one of the guards might have my head-" "And so you took your chances with the latter," Lewa finished grimly. "Well, I will say that you have guts, fire-spitter. However, I doubt you'll be able to return to the settlement now." Lewa paused for a moment, before deciding, "Therefore, I guess you will have to stay with me for a time."

"So, if you don't mind my asking, where have you been all these years?" Nuhrii asked the ex-toa. The two had been walking along a little-known trail used by Kavinika wolves. Lewa slashed at another vine. "If you must know, I have been here, in these jungles." Nuhrii hesitated before asking his next question, "Why didn't you fight the invaders with the rest of your Toa team?" Lewa stopped cutting the foliage ahead, and Nuhrii felt for a moment that he would soon be back at the camps, or worse. But Lewa simply turned around and, after giving the ta-matoran a scrutinizing look, told him, "You talk to much, fire-spitter." Nuhrii decided to not say anything else, unless he wanted to risk sleeping with the Nui-Jagas on the surface.

Presently, Lewa stopped in his tracks. "We have arrived," he told his companion. Nuhrii was puzzled; as far as he could tell, there was just more vines. Lewa noticed the matoran's confusion with a bemused expression, before tapping him on the shoulder and pointing upwards. Nuhrii tilted his head up, and was greeted with a spectacular sight. Without even realizing it, he had walked right to the base of a massive tree. Lewa chuckled a bit before ordering his companion, "climb onto my back and hang on." Nuhrii obliged, unsure of what was about to happen. With one swift movement, Lewa tugged on a vine that was a little yellower then the others, and the two were sent shooting into the sky, before gently landing on a wooden landing-platform in one of the upper-branches. Nuhrii climbed down from Lewa and stood gawking at the sight before him. Through an archway was an entire village full of Agori and a few Matoran. Lewa ushered the stunned Nuhrii inside with a smile. "Fire-spitter, welcome to Tesara."


	3. Chapter 3

The sight before him was breathtaking. An entire village had been built in the hollows of the giant tree. Nuhrii saw people from all walks of life: agori, matoran of all types (including a few rarer ones such as plasma), a handful of Vorox (looking much less beastly then he was used to), and a skakdi. Lewa tapped the matoran on the sholder, a bemused expression on his face. "If your done sight-gazing, I would like to give you the tour." Nuhrii shook himself out of his awestruck state and followed the warrior of air.

"I found this place abandoned long ago. It appears when the great-spirit robot broke down, the part that had been Tesara landed in these jungles, taking a tree form," Lewa explained to him as they passed a makeshift market. "Soon many refugees and outcasts arrived here, and we formed this community." Nuhrii glanced uncertainly at a Skrall manning a trading post. "But how do they all get along so well? I mean…some of the people here have been enemies for a long time." Lewa turned to his companion, replying simply, "Because they understand what's out there is far worse." Nuhrii knodded, knowing full well the horrors that less fortunate citizens back home faced.

"Aaaand here we are!" Lewa announced. "These are the sleeping quarters. Your dorm is the third door on the right. Rest up, fire-spitter. You'll need it." And with that, Lewa was off in the other direction. Nuhrii found the dorm easily, and entered it to see a simply furnished room with two bunks. He climbed into one of them wearily. Lewa was right, he thought. He was extremely tired from the running. Very quickly, the mask maker fell asleep.

He was awakened with a jolt by a loud bang. Nuhrii tore outside. It was nighttime, though the entire village was illuminated by raging fires. On the lower decks, he could see a few warriors battling the invaders. Nuhrii was overtaken by fear, then shame. The robots must have tracked him to Tesara, and now the peace of the kind villagers had been destroyed. Suddenly he was picked up, and he began to panic. One of the robots had found him, he was going to die, HE WAS GOING TO DIEE- "What do you think you're doing out here, Matoran!?" Nuhrii eased up slightly, as this voice was not the metallic ones of the robots. "You should be fleeing, you fool! …Here." The owner of the voice suddenly pulled Nuhrii up and onto the figure's back. He slowly opened his eyes, and found his savior to be none other than a Vorox. Said Vorox tilted his head up at Nuhrii and gave him a toothy grin. "Getting comfortable? Cause it's about to get a lot less so." The Vorox ran towards one of the landing pads, Nuhrii hanging on for dear life. The pair jumped off the board, freefalling towards the ground. Nuhrii was screaming in terror. The Vorox grabbed hold of a vine, and began swinging along it like a Brakas-monkey.

Presently, the two were far away from the burning ruins of Tesara. The flames of the bonfire could be seen for miles. The Vorox finally landed on the ground. "You can get off now." Nuhrii happily abliged. The Vorox looked him over, rubbing his chin. "Can't say I've seen you before. What did you say your name was?" "I didn't say it, but it's Nuhrii." The Vorox practiced saying it a few times, commiting it to memory. "Right. My name's Xryl" Nuhrii stumbled a bit over the name. "Pleased to meet you, um, Scrile?" The Vorox sighed. "Just call me Ryl. Everyone does." Nuhrii nodded. "Okay. So, what now?" Ryl turned towards the burning ruins. "We wait for Lewa and other survivors," he said, before adding, "if there are any."


End file.
